With the increasing use of mobile devices and cloud-based computing, and the increasing desire to provide remote access and control capabilities in such environments, techniques for synchronizing data across multiple devices are becoming increasingly important. Various techniques for synchronizing data are known. For example, in two-way file synchronization, updated files are copied between a pair of locations, such as a mobile phone and a home personal computer, with the intent of keeping select files at both locations identical to across the locations. Such synchronization techniques may use various tools for dealing with modifications to the files, including version control, mirroring, and the like.
Numerous products that perform data synchronization are currently available. For example, iCloud™ by Apple, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. allows data such as pictures and videos to be shared between devices such as mobile phones, tablet computers, etc. SugarSync, Inc. of San Mateo, Calif. provides software applications which can be installed on mobile devices, personal computers, and the like, that allow files and folders to be synchronized across multiple computers and devices.
While modern techniques for synchronizing data have facilitated significant advances in file sharing across multiple devices, in many cases these techniques are structurally designed for implementation on devices with permanent (AC-power) or relatively long-term (mobile device battery) power availability, and/or where the synchronization is only required at particular predetermined instances in time (e.g., when a user takes a photograph to be shared across multiple devices). Such scenarios can be contrasted with substantially more challenging scenarios in which data synchronization across multiple devices is desired for facilitating real-time device-to-device control or monitoring, but in which powering limitations bring about the need to keep one or more of the devices in an off state or very-low-power state for extended periods of time.
With the increasing use of cloud-based computing where elements of the computing system are remotely dispersed from one another, authenticating the identity of those elements is also becoming increasingly important to ensure a secure operating environment. Many device authentication techniques, such as the use of pre-shared symmetric/asymmetric keys and/or the use of digital signatures, work well in client-server models where the client device is effectively a stand-alone device that needs to authenticate its identity (and/or that of its user) to the server. Such scenarios, however, can be contrasted with substantially more challenging scenarios in which client devices and their relationship to the server is dynamic, such as in situations where client devices may be paired with user accounts so as to gain access to secured resources that should otherwise be inaccessible.